Thank God
by Initial C
Summary: Not yet complete; just a preview: What if Shinji wasn't the wuss we all thought he was? Update (9.9.03): Added the car scene, please R


Thank God  
  
An 'Initial C' Production  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing! Don't sue me! Yatta!  
  
Author's Notes: This is my first shot at an Eva fanfic, though I've been reading them since '99. Please read and review, and while flames are acceptable, If you start yelling 'J00 @R3 T3H SUX!!!!11!' for no reason, I'll...well...you'll see what happens. This fic's timeframe is variable; it could occur anytime between when Asuka arrives and when she can't pilot her EVA anymore.   
  
Enjoy!  
  
***   
  
"Shinji, you IDIOT!"  
  
"SHINJI, ARE YOU LISTENING?!"  
  
"SHINJI, GET YER STUPID ASS OUT HERE!! I'M HUNGRY GOD DAMMIT!"  
  
"SHINJI, I'M COMING IN AND KICKING YOUR ASS!"  
  
Shit. I guess my 'Ignore the Whore' idea isn't turning out the way I'd hoped.   
  
Yes, I said 'whore', though I never mean it. I'm not nearly as spineless as people think I am. When you're forced to fight otherworldly creatures on a regular basis, it doesn't take too long before you start to grow some ba....  
  
SLAM  
  
"Shinji, what the hell are you doing in bed?! It's almost time for school, BAKA!"  
  
Asuka of course. Why she couldn't just knock on the door like a normal person was beyond me. I'm amazed (and sad) that she hasn't lost her voice once since she came here.   
  
"SHINJI! HURRY UP!"  
  
It was at this point that she decided to take action. It was also at this point that I fell out of my bed. It was also at this point that she drove her fist into my bed. By quickly sizing up my body, I soon found out that her fist would've decimated my chances of ever having children had it connected with her target.  
  
Thank God. I'd better go wuss, just so she doesn't decide to try again.  
  
"G...gomen Asuka. I'll go work on breakfast. Gomen..."  
  
"Damn right you're sorry! You shouldn't keep such an exquisite creature waiting, y'know!" Asuka said in an elitist tone. Exquisite creature, my ass. I've seen her when she's pissed. Like a banshee, she is. I started walking to the kitchen in order to get breakfast started. When she was out of my line of sight, I went back to normal.  
  
I guess you're a little confused, ne? Remember how I said that I'm not as spineless as I was before?   
  
"Shinji! Food!"  
  
"Hai...hai"  
  
***  
  
Breakfast was actually going well for a change. Asuka, who was confident that she'd succeeded in putting me in my place, kept shooting me cocky glances. Misato was too busy cradling her beer and teasing Asuka about shooting me said cocky glances.  
  
Thank God. I hate being the center of attention.  
  
"Asuka, would you stop gazing at your beloved Shin-chan already? Its kinda creepin me out," Misato said a matter-of-factly. "Would you like some alone-time with him?  
  
"I would, except I don't like sloppy seconds."  
  
I nearly choked on one of the sausages Asuka had coerced me into cooking. I'm not sure which is making me more flustered: the fact that Asuka assumed that Misato had....y'know.... or the fact that she would be willing to.... y'know.... if Misato and I didn't.   
  
Which we didn't.   
  
I mean we did!  
  
Wait, what?  
  
Sorry. I may not be as spineless as before, but I'm still oblivious to all things female, be it a joke, or the...ahem...special female...equipment.   
  
Hmmm....equipment....  
  
"Shinji? Are you alright?" Misato asked  
  
"You can go first if you want, Asuka." I blurt out. Shit! I forgot to go wuss! I know what's coming, and I quickly close my eyes to shield them from the carnage. Asuka's fist + My face = Radical reconstructive surgery.   
  
'Maybe the surgeons can make me hot!' I think to myself.  
  
God, where'd *that* come from?  
  
I was too busy trying to remember whether or not the freezer actually had any ice in it when I realized my face was still intact. The sound of someone standing up was the only sign that Asuka and Misato had already left. I open one eye. Then the other.   
  
What's up with her face? Is she smiling?  
  
Is this a dream?  
  
I stand up, coming nearly face to face with Asuka. I'm sure she's smiling now, though I don't know quite why. God, her smile is magnificent. I'd give anything for us to be able to stay here all day, her smiling, and me just taking in the view.  
  
Thank God. And I thought she was gonna slug me!  
  
"Shinji YOU PERVERT!" The smile on her face quickly melted away, as she pulls her arm back, and then launches it forward with all of her might.  
  
My thoughts are still on her smile, even after she nails me in the face.  
  
***  
  
"Shinji? Are you alright?" Misato of course. I doubt Asuka could ever show such concern.   
  
A quick look around indicated that I was back in my room, and on my bed. My hands made their way to my face in an attempt to gauge the damage Asuka had inflicted. Amazingly, everything was in order, save for the nasty purple bruise under my right eye. Misato was gingerly holding a bag of ice, presumably for the bruise, although I guess she could've been using it to cool a beer or something. I remember one time she ended up jury-rigging the guts of an old refrigerator to one of those 'can-coolies' and nearly killed us all with the leaking freon. She still maintains that we would've been alright, and that it yielded 'the best damn beer I'd ever have.'  
  
"I'm alright Misato. Where's Asuka?" Odd. I normally wouldn't have cared.  
  
"She already left for school. Speaking of which, I have to get you there on the double!" Misato exclaimed frantically.  
  
"G...gomen...Misato-san, for being such a burden." I spoke barely audibly, which caused Misato to calm down visibly. See? Going wuss really does have its benefits, like being able to defuse almost any situation. Too bad it hardly ever works on Asuka the way I want it to.  
  
"Its OK Shinji. It's not your fault Asuka slugged you. She's just...well...you know how she is." she said. I nodded knowingly. "Well, I'd better get you to school," Misato continued. I nodded again, and got my things together.   
  
"Wait...what about my bruise?" Somehow, I forgot about the internally bleeding bruise under my eye. It doesn't really hurt, but its kind of annoying the way I can feel blood pulsing through it.  
  
"Don't worry about. I mean, its not like Asuka hasn't done this to anyone before!" Misato stated, chuckling all the while. She *is* right though. Kouichi Nakazato, the last person who got on Asuka's bad side by hitting on her, got punched in the face much like I did. Fortunately for him, the majority of the male population hailed him as a hero (I just thought we was lucky Asuka's fist didn't cause his face to cave in), and he wore his bruise like a medal of honor. Hey, maybe I'll be a hero, too!  
  
Sorry. Just my subconscious desire for praise kicking in.   
  
As we headed out of the apartment and down the elevator, my thoughts wandered back to Asuka. In all honesty, I never really liked Asuka.   
  
Well, I liked her, but not in the way Touji likes Hikari (don't tell anyone!), or they way Kensuke likes the EVAs. To me, Asuka was always just sort of an annoyance; a person who couldn't stand you, but expected you to utterly adore her regardless. Whats with the double standard, anyway? Anyway, ever since we first met on 'Over the Rainbow,' she's done nothing but assault me both physically and verbally. I'd hardly ever seen her smile, let alone anything like what I saw at breakfast. It seemed so... genuine, so real. I know it was probably because she was happy she'd but to punch me, but still...  
  
"Hey, Shinji. Shinji? You still have to get to school, y'know. Did Asuka give you brain damage or something?"  
  
I took a step out of the elevator, still confused about my feelings for Asuka. Did I like her? Was there something behind that smile? Am I reading too much into things?  
  
Misato took a few steps out of the elevator and glanced at me. "Are you alright? Do you wanna stay home or something?"  
  
I got tired of walking one or two steps at a time, and began to pick up speed as I approached Misato's Renault.   
  
"Lets go. I think I have a test today." Misato quickly matched my pace and we both got into her car at the same time. The purr of Misato's blue Alpine coming to life quickly shunted all thoughts of Asuka out of my mind, along with Misato's friendly banter. I do my best to keep up with the machine gun pace of her light-hearted taunts and teases, but my mind is still focused on that smile, despite all attempts to disregard it.   
  
I hate to admit it, but I'm kinda pathetic like that. When I was growing up, life was more or less isolated. I mean, I put up the front of being the studious, quiet kid, so love was never an issue for me: I might've loved Father when I was a toddler, I definitely didn't love his brother though raised me far better than Gendou ever could; in fact, I can't remember ever loving anyone save for my mother, who disappeared. I guess I could blame them for my becoming such a weakling, so stoic, so apathetic, but I know that it was my own shortcomings that stopped me from getting close to anyone.   
  
In all honesty, that was fine with me. I convinced myself that I never needed anyone to be happy.  
  
And then... Father came back... along with the Evangelions.  
  
The EVA program changed everything. My father was now back in my life, albeit, in a commandant-esque way. I was surrounded by more beautiful women than I'd ever seen in my   
  
(relatively short) life. I was in a new school, where none of my past transgressions mattered. I piloted an instrument of destruction to serve the greater good.  
  
I felt important.  
  
I felt needed.  
  
I admit though, despite the seemingly glowing comments I made about life since I came here, there is still one thing I've yet to experience:  
  
Love.  
  
Heh... kinda sounds like something Ayanami would say.  
  
Speaking of which... before Asuka came here, I would spend time analyzing Ayanami during class. My only conclusion was that though she seemed so distant, she was at the same time,... familiar. She was the reason I'd become a pilot in the first place. I wanted... no needed to protect her, though I would soon find out that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. Maybe it was the bandages making her look so vulnerable that drove me to enter the purple behemoth known as Unit-01, and fight that Angel.   
  
No.  
  
Maybe it was a part of me that wanted to make itself known, the part of me I'd long since left behind, the part of me that I'd hardly let develop.   
  
The Confident Shinji.  
  
The Shinji I longed to be.   
  
The Shinji who people would love.  
  
...  
  
Do I always sound so pathetic? I should probably stop reading Asuka's old Psychology books.  
  
"Hey Shinji, are you OK? I've been parked in front of the school for 15 minutes, and were staring at my chest the whole time."  
  
So I was. It was a pretty nice view, too. Its a good thing Asuka wasn't here, or she'd end up giving me a matching bruise under my other eye. I grabbed my backpack from off the floor and shifted upright, preparing to get out of the car. "I'll be home pretty late, Shinji, so you and Asuka'd better go out for dinner or something. Do you have my account number?"  
  
I guess I replied in the affirmative, because Misato just smiled and drove away as soon as I got out of her car. I suppose going out for dinner would be alright as long as... y'know, Asuka doesn't twist my neck because of some stupid double entendre. Maybe we could find a nice little cafe, sit at a quiet table under the stars, enjoy each other's company, and at the end we'd both lean forward... our lips would touch ever so slightly, feeling a mutual sense of longing and compassion...  
  
OK, I guess that's a pretty clear reading on how I feel about Asuka.   
  
I guess I like her. A lot. And I'll make damn sure she knows it by the end of the night. See? I told you I wasn't as spineless. Before I would've blushed and stammered at the mere implication that I would be having dinner with a beautiful woman.  
  
Now I just have to tell her about the whole dinner arrangement. I started walking towards the school, both confident and afraid of what would ensue when I asked Asuka.  
  
'At least Misato's paying for it,' I think to myself. I started reciting Misato's account number to keep my mind off of the intense fear that came with asking Asuka about dinner.  
  
"NRV-0283-1923-234" I spoke aloud.  
  
Wait.... that's not Misato's account number....  
  
What *is* Misato's account number?  
  
...  
  
Shit. 


End file.
